my makeup table 2.0

ok, this is not for bragging.  well, like 20% bragging rights only.

girls like to post their makeup collection not because they want to brag, but because these collections makes us happy.  like a person collecting either stamps or rocks or whatever, of course they feel glad when they get to share it with others.

so don't hate me coz im not here to shout what i have, it is not even a lot.  i am just ecstatic when i see these pretty little things and sometimes i just sit on my table looking at them and trying them out again one by one ^_^

time has passed when i can fit all of my makeup in one box:

this is my makeup table now :) (see before)

bambi installed these lights for me, isn't it awesome?  and i got the mobile mirror and shelf from centrepoint when they had a sale ^_^ ...the stickers (monokuro boo) are from a local thrift store and they jazz up my simple white wood, don't they?

basically i had the shelf installed and on the top part i have our perfumes, mostly for me.  and a pink lotion bottle from daiso.

then the middle part has the hair products like hairgel, hairspray, heat protectant, split ends serum, curling mousse, and my contact lens solution and lotions from belo and m&s.  my two contact lens case (pink and blue) that now keeps my used false lashes and eylure lash glue and remover are also here.

individuals and strip lashes that i cut in the middle

then in the bottom shelf i have the eye brushes, and mostly face products, which i will show one by one...

we have smashbox primer, olay complete radiance moisturizer, clarins complexion perfector, olay total white cream (i found in a thai store), sephora eye makeup remover (waterproof), bodyshop vanilla and spice lip balm, jars with gosh primer and nivea face mask, olay white radiance day cream (with spf) and olay natural white night cream.  and also benefit high beam.

next line we have olay skin comfort cleansing milk, gosh face primer, sephora face primer and base, b.e. rev-er upper, facial mist bottle (empty), and benefit confessions of a concealaholic box.

on the side of the table i have at the back the clear plastic folder for eyeshadows (from daiso), and my manly eyeshadow palette (barely seen here), the plastic tray for lipsticks, pink drawer for small stuff like false eyelashes, spare contact lenses and hair clips,  and a jar for face brushes.

then on the base of the lighting we have:

the plastic tray for face stuff: benefit some kinda gorgeous foundation faker, mikajy blush and highlighter, some free coupons, bare escentuals 9gram jar of mineral veil, loreal blush in nude, nyx blush in spice, benefit coralista blush, bare escentuals 2gram jar of mineral foundation in medium/medium beige mix (in a mineral veil jar), b.e. radiance, and body shop kabuki brush.

the pink brush tray at the back keeps these items: ( for my own eye candy i will show them one by one)

2 body shop mascaras, maybelline xxl curl power mascara, bourjois extra curl mascara, nyx doll eye macara in long lash, sephora eye primer, 4 eyebrow pencils (the short ones), 6 urban decay 24-7 eyeliners (colorful ones), nyx white pearl eyeliner, prestige eyebrow pencil with spoolie, gosh velvet eye pencil and avon glimmersticks in black.

then we have the body shop vitamin e eye cream, too faced shadow insurance, urban decay eyeshadow primer potion, the body shop tea tree oil coverstick, benefit dr feelgood lip scrub and lip balm, the body shop glitter liner in silver, sephora glitter liner in green and benefit cheek tint sample sized benetint.

my d-i-y cabinet for rings and earrings, 

i did it myself, yep. yep.

and on the forefront the stila illuminating face powder in rose gold, smashbox fusion eye and cheek palette in shockwave, smashbox cream liner, pop beauty backstage buzz LONDON in midnight soot, and urban decay preen eyeshadow palette.

i will probably make a quick review of them sometime soon...  

that's it. i hope my sister won't take half of them when i go home next month.  problem is, i can't fit them in one hello kitty bag anymore :P

year 2009, when simplicity was beauty.

face primers

i am finishing all the backlogged photos in my 'to blog' folder because when we go home for vacation i know i won't have time to do that...

so, my reviews this time is for my face primers, which i have learned to use 3 years ago.  like eyeshadow primers, face primers preps your skin for smoother application of your foundation, and it helps keep them longer.  no more 'natutunaw ang makeup ko' drama ^_^

i always use them after moisturizer / before foundation.

my first primer (i'd like to think of it as a face primer, although bare escentuals actually has a proper primer called prime time foundation primer) is b.e. rev-er upper.  it is actually a conditioning cream on a white squirtable bottle.  but it's what i prefer to use before buffing on b.e. mineral foundation.

it smells like elmer's glue and looks slightly yellow-orange, but aside from preparing my face for an easier application of mineral powder (if i don't put it on i feel like i am tugging the face brush on my face) it also keeps my face matte all day.  not only that, it has salicylic acid and glycolic acids, and other beneficial ingredients that has moisturizing, antioxidant and antiseptic properties.  i think this is the secret to b.e.'s motto of "clearer skin by continued usage".  i swear by it.

i had the 30ml bottle and for a continued one year use i only used 3/4 of it, so even though it is not really cheap, you get your money's worth.

my second primer is a bargain from ebay (beware of fake items from untrusted sellers: tip a and tip b) called smashbox hybrid 2-in-1, a cool tube within a tube that has artificial light primer (the clear one) and luminizing primer on separate chambers.  both primers will come out in equal parts when you squeeze them, but i found a clever way of using the artificial light first and the luminizing primer when i had no more choice.

both of them gets a five-star rating for me, simply because they do their job well.  only difference is the super tiny golden specks i get from the luminizing primer that makes me look bronzed, that makes it only perfect for summer.  if i can only find another bargain from ebay i will definitely repurchase but i would like to try the photofinish variety.  i heard it's good, too.

my third one is from our local sephora store, called sephora smoothing primer.   i remember the day we bought it, coz irish and i were trying out the samples on the counter and we were both amazed at how smooth our skin was when we tried it on so we bought it immediately.  they did not need to convince us ^_^

basically it is like a silicon gel, (you know the one they use to seal the aquariums) but softer.  you only need a small amount, like a green-pea size, to use for your face and neck.  and it works so well that i purchased another bottle, and would have purchased a third one when i ran out again if only they did not get out of stock.  but the bottle is so small (15ml only) so it will last you only a month if you use it every morning.  but i love it coz it goes so well with benefit foundation faker.  and the squirtable frosted glass bottle looks so cute.  unfortunately it will not give you all of the product inside, the squirt will not take out the remaining 2-5 ml of product left.

as i said, they ran out of smoothing primer once, so i had to buy its alternative, called sephora base sublimatrice primer.  it is a beige cream and has the same bottle as the smoothing primer but does none like it.  it is just like ponds, just a basic base for makeup.  it does not make my face smooth and does not make my makeup last.  i am just using it to finish it.  but i think this will be fine for lazy days when you just want to look natural and have nothing heavy on your face.

benefit's that gal is labelled as a primer, but as i said before, i don't use it as one.  just read my previous post for more details.

and the one i am currently using right now is the gosh velvet touch foundation primer.  i had loads of samples of this (6 sachets of 2ml each) and i put it in a small jar and it lasted for more than a month ^_^.  but all good things come to an end and i have to purchase the bottle legally last week.

you know how much i loved sephora's smoothing primer?  it is exactly like that.  i checked their ingredients and it is almost the same.  the good thing is, sephora's cost $15.92 per 15ml bottle, but this cost $23.87 per 30ml, and you know how i love bargains!  it is in a clear squirtable plastic bottle that gives you exactly the amount you need, the squirt is not hard to deal with.  so now i have switched ^_^!

great finds from daiso!

our local japanese savings shop is one of my favorite because i can find a lot of things that i normally wouldn't see in any of the malls here, plus the fact that they have a standard price of $1.86 on most items.  if i only took a picture you would see their vast collection of items both useful and decorative, unfortunately i am always in a hurry to do that.

since my sister requested some earplugs (she couldn't find a comfortable one in manila, my own shopping mecca), i passed by there and i bought her wish and some other stuff, too...

3 pairs per pack x 3 packs. i hope she is satisfied.

this is my second squirtable bottle, the first one cracked when i bought it and instead of letting it go i bought another one coz it's so darn cute!  i put my coconut lotion in here coz the bottle looks old. 

a compartmentalized tray perfect for lipsticks and lipglosses!

another compartmentalized tray for face products

and a clear plastic folder with pink lock for eyeshadows ^_^

i also bought another plastic folder (lockable also) for my konad stuff.  it is perfect when i bring it to the office!

don't you just love that store?

individual false eyelashes

before i tried full strip lashes (which i now love and use almost everyday), i had two boxes of individual lashes: one from eylure and one from ardell called duralash naturals.  i kind of like the way they look on lisa eldridge in her video so i started with them but then got hooked on strip ones.


the one from eylure has a lash glue and glue remover included in the box, called superfix and liftoff, and it has short, medium and long ones.  i almost finished the short coz the medium and long ones look comical for me.

beware, the glue is semi-permanent.  the remover takes them off, but it takes a lot of effort. 

yes, they said it is semi-permanent, but it only lasted a few days for me.  unfortunately, they don't fall off at the same time, so sometimes you will have full lashes on your right and some-some on your left.  so i was forced to remove all of them by day 4.

and the one from ardell has no extras included and has only one length per box (they have a separate box for medium and long), which is perfect because i only use short ones!

the difference with them, apart from above, is the knot.  see, the eylure (bottom) has a knot at the base of the false lashes, while the ardell (top) has none.

so, when you place them on your lashes, ardell has definitely the more natural look, especially when you close up on the camera, or people will take a closer look, if you have eyelure, then they can see the knots at the base of your lashes.  and therefore losing the point of wearing individual lashes: that is because youre going for a more natural look.  some strip lashes are more on being dramatic, while individual lashes are more of "just enhancing" your lashes.

plus the fact that when i used the semi-permanent glue (coz i wanted  them to last for weeks) it hurts when i wash my eye area, because the knots are scratching my eyelids.  i did not get this problem with ardell duralash naturals, and i don't use the semi-permanent glue anymore, i use the strip lashes glue instead.

and that's why i used ardell on the photos below to show how individual lashes look:

freaky, i know, but that's how it will look when you put them on, one by one.

looking down, it is almost invisible

left side with individual lashes, right without.  see the difference?

both sides with individual false eyelashes.

see? they look almost like they're naturally mine.

p.s. all photos without mascara, which you can add later to blend the false ones to your natural ones.

this is lisa eldridge's tutorial on how to put on individual false eyelashes:




next stop>> ardell lashtite adhesive for individual lashes and lashfree remover

because ardell lashes did not have a glue included, i was forced to buy a lash glue from the same brand (and same ebay seller) and a lash glue remover, too.  i was thinking of hating the feeling of running out of lash glue (eylure has such a small amount) and the combined shipping savings helped, too.

basically, ardell lashtite adhesive is like eylure that will last for 4 weeks or more (or so they say, mine only lasted for 4 days) depending on how carefully you clean your eyes.  but it dries faster than eylure, that's why you have to pour only a small amount on an aluminium foil (like a bead-sized amount) and then pour some again after two lashes.  i only hate that the screw top doesn't have the stick like eylure coz it will be easier to put adhesive from a stick than pouring it direct from the small bottle.  i always put more than i have to.

the lashfree remover , however, works the same as eylure, but as i said, it takes effort to remove them and for first timers, it will hurt a lot.

see the size difference?

i am not planning on using them right now but at that time i was high on shopping. and they kind of helped when my stila rose gold  illuminating powder lost its glue.

it falls off everytime i use it

pour a small amount here (that is the old glue from stila)

and problem fixed ^_^.  now you only have to worry about the smell :(

Vacation 2011: Hello Summer!

I have changed our airline from Cathay to Gulf Air, after days of hunting for a good fare.  I am so happy today because of that!

And these are my plans for our vacation, they are not yet confirmed but it is nice to dream about it, so...

Things to do:

Yvaine's baptismal

Jethro's Firing Range

Malls to visit:

Mall of Asia

SM Bicutan (duh)

Bonifacio High Street/Serendra?

SM Southmall (the biggest toy store there!)

Market Market

Rustan's/Glorietta

Family Outings:
Manila Ocean Park

Manila Zoo (i miss it, bakit bah!)

Sonia's Tagaytay

Laiya Batangas

Palawan (I wish!)

Dates:

Zirkoh (or any laugh bar!)

Return to College Days (i have a deal with bambi to spend his day with me and i will drag him to ride a jeep to rotonda, LRT to UN Ave, go to Rizal Park, then San Miguel by the beach, just the two of us!)

Shops to go to:
Ikea

Hello Kitty Shop

Nyx at Serendra's

Dollface Bazaars

GOODLUCK SA BUDGET! ^_^

body shop tea tree oil cover stick

a quick review for body shop tea tree oil cover stick, which i only purchased to because of combined shipping savings when i bought a blusher brush from the body shop.

it looks like this and i got mine in medium (they only have 3 shades):

it looks like a lipstick bullet

and i am so happy to say that it works!  i use this in the morning after benefit's foundation faker.  i just dab it on my pimple, blend it with my fingers, and the next day, i dont have to use it anymore coz the redness is gone.  honestly...

and even if you have a lot of pimples, i don't think you have to repurchase soon coz you only need a small amount, i think it will last for about 6 months to 1 year, depending on usage.

more quick reviews soon!

Lisa Eldridge - A First Date Look

im thinking of doing this for our flight home on April :)

olay skin comfort cleansing milk vs sephora waterproof makeup remover

how to use:  put a small amount (green pea size) on the tip of your index fingers and massage on your eyelids, then wipe with a cotton wool/ pad to remove make up.

it really is as easy as that!  it will remove even your mascara.  the good thing with this makeup remover is that it is so gentle, but so effective.  i use it every night.

it doesn't remove false eyelashes though, i have to use sephora's waterproof makeup remover to do that.  which does work, but i hate the oily feel afterwards.

it is half blue liquid, half white with tiny crystals which you need to shake first otherwise (happened to me first time) it will sting your eyes big time.  how to use?  pour a small amount on a cotton wool/pad and gently wipe your eyelids.

it does its job but the oily afterfeel makes me want to wash my face again.  but it does a great job in removing glue in my false eyelashes!

so far, those are my only makeup removers, i had a givenchy sample before but after sampling a lot of eyeshadows it kind of burned my eyelids so i gave it away..  >.<

Ms. Eggplant's Chronicles: What To Do During A Natural Disaster

I've found this post while i was visiting kikayexchange and it was so informative that i decided to post it here, too:

Ms. Eggplant's Chronicles: What To Do During A Natural Disaster: "In light of the recent tragedies that has been happening one after the other in our world lately, I decided to post this. Please take a mome..."

zumba!

i am planning to try this once i finish my bout with flu :)  saw it at tv patrol and i am excited!

bob ong quotes

walang magawa.. nag susub ako sa receptionist namin...

Minsan, kailangang ituro ng mundo sa’yo ang tama sa paraang masasaktan ka para matandaan mo.

Maraming tao dito ang mas malungkot pa sa taong nakatira sa buwan. Saka hindi naman kailangan ng maraming tao para makabuo ng mundo e. Minsan, isang tao lang ang kasama mo, buo na ang mundong kailangan mo habambuhay.

Wag magmadali sa pag-aasawa. Tatlo, lima, sampung taon sa hinaharap,

mag-iiba pa ang pamantayan mo at maiisip mong di pala tamang pumili ng

kapareha dahil lang sa kaboses niya si Debbie Gibson o magaling

mag-breakdance. Totoong mas importante ang kalooban ng tao higit anuman. Sa

paglipas ng panahon, maging ang mga crush ng bayan sa eskwelahan e

nagmumukha ring pandesal. Maniwala ka.

Sa kolehiyo, maraming impluwensya ang makikita. Masama o mabuti man ito. Wag mo isisi sa thesis partner o sa kaibigan ang lahat kung bakit nasira ang baga mo sa kakayosi, nasira ang atay mo sa kakainom at kung bakit nagkaroon ka agad ng pamilya. Kung talagang matino kang tao, kahit sino pa mang tarantado ang kasama mo ay maitutuwid mo pa rin ang daang tatahakin mo.

Lahat naman ng tao sumeseryoso pagtinamaan ng pagmamahal. Yun nga lang, hindi lahat matibay para sa temptasyon.

Ganyan talaga ang tao, pipilit-pilitin ang katotohanan hanggang sa sumang-ayon na ito sa kumportableng posisyon ng mga makasarili nilang puso.

Alam mo ba ang pinagkaiba ng mga bulag at ng mga nakakakita? Hindi alam ng mga nakakakita kung kelan sila bulag.

Ang babae, nirerespeto, inaalagaan!Hindi yan PSP na bubunutin mo lang sa bulsa pag gusto mo ng paglaruan.Hindi yan IPOD na papakinggan mo lang kapag wala kang libangan.At hindi yan RED HORSE na pwede mong laklakin hanggang madaling-araw.Ang babae, marami mang arte sa katawan, hindi yan gadget para kolektahin at paglaruan. 

Huwag mong bitawan ang bagay na hindi mo kayang makitang hawakan ng iba.

Huwag na huwag ka hahawak kapag alam mong may hawak ka na.

Hindi lungkot o takot ang mahirap sa pag-iisa kundi ang pagtanggap na sa bilyon-bilyong tao sa mundo, wala man lang nakipaglaban upang makasama ka.

Gamitin ang puso para alagaan ang taong malapit sayo. Gamitin ang utak

para alagaan ang sarili mo

hindi dahil sa hindi mo naiintindihan ang isang bagay ay

kasinungalingan na ito. at hindi lahat ng kaya mong intindihin ay

katotohanan.

Mangarap ka at abutin mo. Wag mong sisihin ang sira mong pamilya,

palpak mong syota, pilay mong tuta, o mga lumilipad na ipis. Kung may

pagkukulang sa'yo mga magulang mo, pwde kang manisi at maging rebelde.

Tumigil ka sa pag-aaral, mag-asawa ka, mag-drugs ka, magpakulay ka ng buhok

sa kili-kili. Sa bandang huli, ikaw din ang biktima. Rebeldeng walang

napatunayan at bait sa sarili.

a mga taong di nagpaparamdam sa kanilang mga kaibigan e mabuting patayin nalang namin kayo para magparamdam kayo.

Tuparin ang mga pangarap. Obligasyon mo yan sa sarili mo. Kung gusto mo mang kumain ng balde-baldeng lupa para malagay ka sa Guinness Book of World Records at maipagmalaki ng bansa natin, sige lang. Nosi balasi. wag mong pansinin ang sasabihin ng mga taong susubok humarang sa’yo. Kung hindi nagsumikap ang mga scientist noon, hindi pa rin tayo dapat nakatira sa jupiter ngayon. Pero hindi pa rin naman talaga tayo nakatira sa jupiter dahil nga hindi nagsumikap ang mga scientist noon. Kita mo yung moral lesson?

B.E. bare minerals TRY.BELIEVE.LOVE.

i have been using bare escentuals for 3 years now and i will never use another mineral product except b.e. even if i have to order them from US and pay for extra shipping fee.

to find out how much i love their mineral foundation and mineral veil: click  which face product? or the rest here

anyways i was delighted to see them at our local sephora store until i saw that their prices are so ridiculously high that even if i order from US with extra shipping fee, it will still be cheaper than what they have here.

but anyways, i bought the small try-me kit called TRY.BELIEVE.LOVE because i want to give one to my sister so she will not take the big ones i have.  clever, huh?

they only have it in Medium

it includes 2 foundation samples: medium and medium beige, one mineral veil sample jar and one warmth sample with a very cute miniature face brush.

i saw one kit in ebay that includes a small concealer brush, i don't know why they don't have it here.  and each kit only costs $20 in the US site of sephora and b.e., while here it costs $26.50.

but don't be fooled, when i say small, i mean small.  this is how it looks when i put them beside the normal sized b.e. powders and brush:

the kit includes only the small jar at the bottom, the middle jar is the normal 2 gram sized b.e. powder, and the top jar is the giant 9 gram powder.  the face brush is also miniature compared to my normal sized b.e. flawless face brush.

really small especially on this angle

silly me, maybe that's why it is called try me kit, hehe!

anyways i put them at the backside of my makeup table so i will not a. use them b. lose them.

but when i ran out of b.e. foundation, i sneaked a small amount from the two sample jars and mixed them up.  this is how medium differs from medium beige (i realized only now)

i hope my sister doesn't read my blog anymore ^_^